This Tequila-powered Triumph has been stretched for the salt

Built for a reason, and for one reason only, this Triumph Thruxton-based ‘Salt Racer’ has its sights set on a new speed record at Lake Gardiner, South Australia, at the end of March…

Far from standard

Long and low-slung, the machine is the finished product from a team of bike-builders in Melbourne, Australia, who wanted to build a café-racer-inspired, land-speed bike – designed to go as fast as possible. With support from Triumph Australia, Peter Stevens Motorcycles led the project, the bike starting life as a factory-standard 2008 Triumph Thruxton. Ross Osborne from Supacustom was also heavily involved.

Power house

At the heart of this purpose-built speed machine is a heavily modified Thruxton motor. Bored to 1000cc by tuning specialist Andrew Hallam and running on alcohol-based fuel (ok, maybe not tequila, but methanol), it is expected to produce in excess of 100bhp. The stylish fuel tank and bodywork are made entirely from carbonfibre. Up front, a pair of forks from a Triumph 675 Daytona replace the originals, while at the rear an extended swingarm and high-performance twin dampers provide greater high-speed stability. If the bike's performance is anything near as good as its appearance, it's very likely that a record will be set in the currently 'open' DLRA 1000MF class.

Photos: TriumphSaltRacer.com via www.classicdriver.com